I’m overjoyed that my family members who are legally married in their home state can now visit me and know that, from a legal standpoint, their marriage is just as valid here as it is there. Of course as far as I was concerned it always was, but the legal recognition is important.

FUCKING. Thank. FSM. Yet another ruling which, twenty years from now, people will ask, " why was their dissent in the first place?".

Which leads me to… Why was this a five four decision? May I point out this is contract law between two adult parties 101? I am gonna have to read the dissent with a glass of scotch and my hands duct taped with towels so I don’t punch my own face.

[quote=“japhroaig, post:3, topic:60512, full:true”]
Which leads me to… Why was this a five four decision?
[/quote]Because a couple of the Justices are certifiable right-wing nutcases, and will flat-out vote against anything that offends their Christian Morality™. The others might have dissented because they actually weren’t convinced by the legal arguments (not sure why, since it seems pretty clear to me, but then I’m not a judge or lawyer, let alone an expert in this area of the Constitution).

I know what you are saying, but contract law generally trumps states rights. Hell, it can trump international law. So I just can’t bring myself to believe the SCOTUS is Sooo biased that they have forgotten Intro To Law.

Can someone please tell me why, as a straight guy with just an average number of gay friends, and whose life will see virtually no direct consequence of this decision, my eyes keep tearing up again and again? And again?

Yesterday’s decision on Obamacare was important, but this is just … so … momentous. I don’t think there are words to express my joy right now.

“What justification could there possibly be for denying the benefits of marriage to homosexual couples?”
-Antonin Scalia, from his dissenting opinion in Lawrence v. Texas

The day he always feared has arrived, and I’m speaking very sincerely when I say I hope he realizes he never had any reason to be concerned. In the meantime his dissent should be a real piece of work. I wonder if it’s even comprehensible.

[quote=“japhroaig, post:10, topic:60512, full:true”]
I know what you are saying, but contract law generally trumps states rights. Hell, it can trump international law. So I just can’t bring myself to believe the SCOTUS is Sooo biased that they have forgotten Intro To Law.
[/quote]I wish I couldn’t believe it either, but considering recent history and how some members of the court will grasp at any straws to support their religious or political views, I’ve gotten disillusioned as to their ability to hand down unbiased rulings. Maybe I’m overstating their biases, or imagining them, but I just don’t have that much trust in them anymore considering how politicized the splits on rulings have been for the last 15 years.

Affirming the basic dignity of minority groups is a powerful, powerful symbol. Marriage isn’t even the most contentious or difficult issue facing the LGBT community, and legalizing it won’t have the bombastic effect that conservative christians fear. But it certainly makes them angry… and they can’t do anything about it.